Ishmael is the narrator or the protagonist in the novel. Unlike all
the other characters in the book, the author does not give a
physical description of Ishmael. But through his activities and
thought processes, one can deduce that he is a young man who
goes to sea in search of adventure. Just as young Ishmael joins
the whaling ship in the novel, the author, Herman Melville had
also sailed on several merchant ships from a very young age.
Young Ishmael represents the spirit of the times he lives in. The
period in the 1800s witnessed many Americans migrating to the
west, seeking land and adventure. Ishmael is not just a detached
observer in the story but he also participates in the action and
events that shape the story of the hero of the novel. He is a
sensitive person who not only has a keen eye for details, as he
makes each character come alive to the reader, but also as he
tries to understand each individual and event with a great deal of
sympathy.

Ishmael is not a rash young sailor who joins the whaling ship but is
a philosopher and thinker who treats all the crew members as well as the
captain with sympathy and understanding - in spite of their shortcomings.
In a way, Ishmael also represents the voice of conscience in the Pequod,
which is heading towards disaster. For it is he who in several places,
before and during the journey gets the strange feeling of some impending
doom in the near future.

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Besides, through the narrator, Melville, the author, expresses his
views on subjects ranging from philosophy to the problems and
perils of the whaling industry as it used to be in the 1800s. In
other words, through Ishmael, the writer reveals his own
knowledge of human nature, his association with people from
various parts of the world, and his deep study of whales and the
whaling industry.

Moby Dick

Moby Dick is a giant white ferocious whale. Around this
legendary sperm whale, the journey on Pequod and the drama in
the novel is spun. Like all the characters (with the exception of
Ahab), the reader also feels that the giant white whale is
unconquerable. The writer with his skillful use of words gives
this beast a quality of invincibility - some thing that any humans
can only look up in awe, but cannot control or destroy. This is
clearly evident from the chapter, where the author, while
describing the various types of whales tells the reader that manís
eyes are placed in such a way that it can focus upon only one
object. On the other hand, the whaleís eyes are on opposite sides
of his head. In other words, the whale at any given time can see
two objects simultaneously. By stating this, the author suggests
that the giant whale represents the dual quality of the Universe,
whereas man is a monistic creature. Therefore, while God
created the Universe with infinite meaning and purpose, man can
only see or read one specific meaning.

Besides, Moby Dick also represents that part of nature, which
cannot be controlled or destroyed by man. And if man does try to
control it, as Ahab does in the novel, he will only meet his death.
In other words the writer says that our nature is something that
cannot and should not be controlled by man. Man might have
progressed by controlling a tiny part of the environment. But
nature, the vast Universe, is still supreme and man is only a very
small part of this.

So complex and fascinating is the character of Moby Dick that it
can represent various things in different situations. For instance,
at the end of the story, when Moby Dick drives his giant head
into the Pequodís side and drowns it, the reader is reminded of
the biblical story where a fish (a whale) swallows Jonah.